Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is arguably the most famous basketball player on the planet, but he hasn't been shy about also being a fan of the NFL as well.
James grew up a Dallas Cowboys fan, but lately he's been more outspoken in his support of his hometown Cleveland Browns, especially given the 11 years he spent playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2003-2010 and again from 2014-2018.
The 21-time All-Star seems bullish on both the Browns' free-agent additions and their 2025 draft class — a group that includes defensive tackle Mason Graham, linebacker Carson Schwesinger, running backs Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson, 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end Harold Fannin Jr., and quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, which is why James picked Cleveland as his sleeper team this year in a recent video for DraftKings Sportsbook.
But what NFL fans outside of Cleveland might be interested in hearing is James' prediction about who will win the 2025 NFL MVP.
"My MVP of the year, this year, I'm taking Lamar Jackson," James declared.
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Given the year Jackson had last season, James' prediction looks like a good one.
Jackson, who's already a two-time MVP, threw for a career-high 4,172 yards and 41 touchdowns against just four interceptions. He also added another 915 yards and four more scores on the ground, and many believed he was robbed in the MVP voting after he came in second place.
The Louisville alum was narrowly edged out by Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who finished with 27 first-place votes and 383 total votes to Jackson's 23 first-place votes and 362 total votes.
While Allen, who led the Bills to the AFC Championship Game, did have a strong year, passing for 3,731 yards, 28 touchdowns and six interceptions with 531 yards rushing and 12 more touchdowns, many protested his win on social media, especially after Jackson was the Associated Press' first-team All-Pro selection at quarterback.
Only two other times in NFL history has a QB selected first-team All-Pro lost the MVP to another quarterback — Joe Montana in 1987 (John Elway won MVP) and Peyton Manning in 2003 (Manning shared co-MVP honors with Steve McNair).
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